FILE - In this 1977 file photo originally released by ABC, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, from the series "Charlie’s Angels," is shown. Fawcett died Thursday, June 25, 2009 in a Los Angeles hospital. She was 62. (AP Photo, file)

Photo: AP

FILE - In this 1977 file photo originally released by ABC, Farrah...

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FILE - In this Aug. 1984 file photo originally released by NBC, actress Farrah Fawcett is shown in character in a scene from, "The Burning Bed." Fawcett died Thursday, June 25, 2009 in a Los Angeles hospital. She was 62. (AP Photo/NBC, file) ** NO SALES **

Photo: NBC, File, AP

FILE - In this Aug. 1984 file photo originally released by NBC,...

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FILE - In this March 6, 1989 file photo, actors Ryan O'Neal and Farrah Fawcett arrive at the New York premiere of O'Neal's new movie, "Chances Are." In an interview with Barbara Walters for ABC's "20/20" O'Neal says he plans to marry Fawcett. Walters' interview with O'Neal airs Friday June 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Ray Stubblebine)

Photo: Ray Stubblebine, AP

FILE - In this March 6, 1989 file photo, actors Ryan O'Neal and...

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Farrah Fawcett-Majors, one of the stars of ABC's show "Charlie's Angeles," is shown in this photo dated 1977. hoto)

FILE - In this March 5, 1989 file photo, actors Ryan O'Neal, left, and Farrah Fawcett are shown at the premiere of the film. "Chances Are," in New York. (AP Photo/Ray Stubblebine, file)

Photo: Ray Stubblebine, File, AP

FILE - In this March 5, 1989 file photo, actors Ryan O'Neal, left,...

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(FILES) US actress Farrah Fawcett arrives at Roy Thompson Hall for the screening of "Dr. T and The Women" at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto 12 September, 2000. People.com reported on April 4, 2009 that the former "Charlie's Angel" Farrah Fawcett has reportedly been in the hospital in Los Angeles since Thursday. The 62-year-old sex symbol has been battling cancer for the last three years. Although she went into remission, it returned in 2007. AFP PHOTO/Aaron Harris/FILES (Photo credit should read AARON HARRIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo: Aaron Harris, AFP/Getty Images

(FILES) US actress Farrah Fawcett arrives at Roy Thompson Hall for...

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Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith, left to right, former stars of the television series "Charlie's Angels,' pay tribute to producer Aaron Spelling during the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Sunday, Aug. 27, 2006, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Photo: Chris Carlson, AP

Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith, left to right,...

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FILE - This 1977 file photo originally provided by ABC shows actresses, from left, Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Farrah Fawcett as private investigators in the television series "Charlie's Angels." Fawcett died, Thursday, June 25, 2009, at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 62. (AP Photo/ABC) ** NO SALES **

Photo: ABC, AP

FILE - This 1977 file photo originally provided by ABC shows...

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FILE - In this May 1977 file photo, actress Farrah Fawcett-Majors, is shown on tennis court, in Los Angeles. Fawcett died Thursday, June 25, 2009 in a Los Angeles hospital. She was 62.(AP Photo, file)

Photo: AP

FILE - In this May 1977 file photo, actress Farrah Fawcett-Majors,...

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(FILES)US actors Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal arrive at the Jimmy'z club in Monte Carlo in this July 14, 1982 file photo during their holidays. Ryan O'Neal is set to marry cancer-stricken Farrah Fawcett and has revealed that his long-time love is "fighting for her life," ABC News reported June 22, 2009. O'Neal, 68, told ABC television's Barbara Walters in an interview due to air later this week that "Charlie's Angels" star Fawcett, who has been battling anal cancer for three years, had agreed to marry him. "I've asked her to marry me, again, and she's agreed," an emotional O'Neal told Walters in excerpts of the interview on ABC News website. O'Neal and Fawcett, 62, have been romantically involved off-and-on since 1982. The couple have a son together but have never married. AFP PHOTORALPH GATTI
AFP PHOTO RALPH GATTI (Photo credit should read RALPH GATTI/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo: Ralph Gatti, AFP/Getty Images

(FILES)US actors Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal arrive at the...

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FILE - In this April 8, 1978 file photo, American actress Farrah Fawcett-Majors arrives at London's Heathrow Airport. Fawcett died, Thursday, June 25, 2009, at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 62. (AP Photo, file)

Photo: AP

FILE - In this April 8, 1978 file photo, American actress Farrah...

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FILE - In this Aug. 8, 1979 file photo, actress Farrah Fawcett Majors appears on NBC's "Today" show in New York. Fawcett died, Thursday, June 25, 2009, at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 62. (AP Photo/Dave Pickoff, file)

Photo: Dave Pickoff, File, AP

FILE - In this Aug. 8, 1979 file photo, actress Farrah Fawcett...

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FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2006 file photo, actress Farrah Fawcett poses for photographers on the red carpet before Comedy Central's "Roast of William Shatner," in Los Angeles. Fawcett died, Thursday, June 25, 2009, at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 62. (AP Photo/Rene Macura, file)

Photo: Rene Macura, File 2006, AP

FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2006 file photo, actress Farrah Fawcett...

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FILE--Farrah Fawcett is shown in this 1992 file photo. Fawcett, best-known from the 1970s TV series "Charlie's Angels," says she doesn't abuse drugs or alcohol, contrary to media and industry speculation that has dogged her for years. "I take no drugs," says Fawcett, 53, in the September 2000 issue of Movieline. "I don't drink either. I don't like the taste. The only thing I'll have is a glass of champagne." (AP Photo/ABC, File)

Photo: ABC, File 1992, AP

FILE--Farrah Fawcett is shown in this 1992 file photo. Fawcett,...

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FILE - In this Jan. 1977 file photo originally released by ABC, actress Farrah Fawcett-Majors from "Charlie's Angels," is shown. Fawcett died, Thursday, June 25, 2009, at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 62. (AP Photo/ABC, file) ** NO SALES **

Photo: ABC, File, AP

FILE - In this Jan. 1977 file photo originally released by ABC,...

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FILE - In this 1986 file photo originally released by Atlantic Releasing Corp, actress Farrah Fawcett is shown in a scene from the film, "Extremities." Fawcett died, Thursday, June 25, 2009, at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 62. (AP Photo/Atlantic Releasing Corp.) ** NO SALES **

Photo: AP

FILE - In this 1986 file photo originally released by Atlantic...

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FILE - In this Jan. 1877 file photo originally provided by ABC, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, who plays Jill in "Charlie's Angels" is seen on a skateboard in a recent episode. Fawcett died, Thursday, June 25, 2009, at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 62. (AP Photo/ABC-TV) ** NO SALES **

Photo: ABC-TV, AP

FILE - In this Jan. 1877 file photo originally provided by ABC,...

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FILE - In this May 1977 file photo, actress Farrah Fawcett-Majors, poses on the tennis court in Los Angeles. Fawcett died, Thursday, June 25, 2009, at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 62. (AP Photo, file)

Photo: AP, File 1977

FILE - In this May 1977 file photo, actress Farrah Fawcett-Majors,...

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FILE - In this April 9, 1978 file photo, American actress Farrah Fawcett-Majors, left, meets the Prince Charles of Wales backstage at the London Palladium after the Royal show Supernight in London. Fawcett died, Thursday, June 25, 2009, at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 62. (AP Photo/Bob Dear, file)

Photo: Bob Dear, File 1978, AP

FILE - In this April 9, 1978 file photo, American actress Farrah...

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FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2004 file photo originally released by CBS, actress Farrah Fawcett jokes with David Letterman during a taping of "Late Show with David Letterman," in New York. Fawcett died, Thursday, June 25, 2009, at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 62. (AP Photo/CBS, JP Filo) ** NO SALES, ARCHIVE OUT, NORTH AMERICA USE ONLY, MANDATORY CREDIT **

Photo: CBS, JP Filo, AP

FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2004 file photo originally released by CBS,...

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(FILES) US actress Farrah Fawcett arrives at Roy Thompson Hall for the screening of "Dr. T and The Women" at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto in this September, 12, 2000 file photo. It was reported by CNN that Fawcwtt died June 25, 2009 at 9:28 PT in Los Angeles,CA. AFP PHOTO/Aaron Harris/FILES (Photo credit should read AARON HARRIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo: Aaron Harris, AFP/Getty Images

(FILES) US actress Farrah Fawcett arrives at Roy Thompson Hall for...

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FILE - In this Feb. 23, 1995 file photo, actress Farrah Fawcett poses during ceremonies honoring her with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Fawcett died Thursday, June 25, 2009 in a Los Angeles hospital. She was 62. (AP Photo/Wally Santana, file)

Her career should have been over in 1981. She was a poster, then an Angel and then just another piece of beautiful scenery in "Cannonball Run." The next step should have been a failed TV pilot, a "Love Boat" cameo, then maybe an infomercial for some kind of skin care line.

But Farrah Fawcett always had the moxie to take her career seriously, even when others didn't. Her next mainstream role was in the harrowing and controversial television movie "The Burning Bed," which established the pinup girl as a serious actress - and someone whose next 25 years would be unpredictable and interesting.

Her long illness was reflective of her career, which was filled with false tabloid rumors. There were also a few dubious achievements. Even in death, no story about Fawcett should go beyond the fourth paragraph without mentioning her rambling 1997 interview on "The Late Show With David Letterman," which - with apologies to Paula Abdul - set the standard for spaced-out live appearances on network television.

Fawcett was a lot of things during her career, starting with goddess. She reached her peak of mainstream popularity in 1976, when a poster of the then-unknown actress, smiling almost blindingly in her red one-piece swimsuit, was released. It sold 12 million copies. Later the same year, she debuted on the Aaron Spelling series "Charlie's Angels" as Jill Munroe, a character whose lines were instantly forgotten but whose hairstyle was endlessly copied.

But after one season of "Angels" and an appearance in "Cannonball Run," Fawcett made the first of several brazen career decisions. Still in her prime, she appeared in the 1982 off-Broadway play "Extremities," playing a rape victim who seeks revenge. She returned to television in 1984, looking haggard as Francine Hughes in "The Burning Bed." The movie dealt with abuse, vigilante justice and garnered Fawcett her first of three Emmy Award nominations.

Fawcett's role in "The Burning Bed" may have not have been particularly subtle, but it still proved to mainstream audiences that Fawcett had unexpected range. She settled into a second career as a TV movie tough girl, reprising her role in the 1986 "Extremities" TV movie, and, in 1989, as a deranged mother who shoots her own children in "Small Sacrifices." In more recent years, she was a frequent guest star on network TV shows, usually playing serious roles.

Arguably, her career highlights came in her early 50s, when she returned to feature films. Fawcett was the only former Angel to co-star with Robert Duvall and appear in a Robert Altman film - garnering praise as Duvall's movie wife in "The Apostle" in 1997 and playing a small role in Altman's "Dr. T and the Women" in 2000. It was arguably Altman's worst film, but it still made the point: Who in 1976 would have believed that Farrah Fawcett would be making movies 15 years later with the guy who directed "Nashville"?

Unfortunately for Fawcett's legacy, almost nobody saw "The Apostle" and "Dr. T and the Women." And pretty much everyone either owned or had a boyfriend or brother who owned the Poster.

The 1970s version of a viral video, the Farrah Fawcett poster was the kind of sensation that could only happen spontaneously, and without premeditation. Here are a few pieces of trivia about this iconic wall hanging, which was first released in 1976:

1. Fawcett did her own hair. 2. For the backdrop, photographer Bruce McBroom used an old blanket that had been covering the front seat of his '37 Chevy. 3. The photo was shot in the back of then-husband Lee Majors' Bel Air home. 4. No ice was used during the making of this poster.

Some actors are typecast by a TV show. Others by a movie. Fawcett was typecast by a giant glossy photo that was taken before she landed her first major acting role. But even if the rest of her life never completely eclipsed that image, she deserves respect for doing everything possible to make her career more than that moment in time.

Very few masters of their craft ever get to be a pop culture phenomenon. And very few pop culture phenomena ever have the patience and skill to pursue their craft with passion and hard work. Farrah Fawcett did both. She journeyed beyond the two-dimensional limits of her dizzying first few years in Hollywood and left behind an admirable career.